A society losing its ethical moorings

Two persons were beaten to death by villagers in Taraganj upazila of Rangpur on the night of Saturday (August 9).The reason for their fatal end, as reported, was that the victims lost their way and entered the Burirhatbottola area under Soyar union of Taraganj upazila of Rangpur. The villagers suspected the victims as rickshaw van thieves, as they were riding a rickshaw van at that time. So, just a suspicion was enough for the people of Burirhatbottolarea who turned into a bloodthirsty mob and killed Rupalal Das (45), a cobbler by profession and Prodip Das (50), a rickshaw van driver. Pradip Das was also learnt to be the husband of Ruplal Das' niece. The mob at Burirhatbottolarea in Taraganj upazila not only mindlessly murdered two people but it also destroyed two families at the same time. And it all happened purely out of suspicion. It's an intolerant and brutalised society we are living in. Someone's life can be taken here purely on flimsy grounds. 

In another incident in the same (Saturday) evening, a journalist and his mother were badly beaten up by members of a criminal racket at Mokra Dhodhogach village in Lalmonirhat Sadar Upazila. The victims were learnt to be undergoing treatment at the Lalmonirhat Sadar Hospital at the time of reporting. The journalist, Helal Hossain Kabir (32), reportedly runs a weekly newspaper, Alormoni, as its executive editor. His mother was injured when she tried to protect her son from the attacker, Sohrab Hossain (48) and his cohorts who allegedly run a gambling racket. Before the attack, the journalist was reportedly issued death threat over phone as some months back he filed a general diary against Abdul Aziz, a local criminal associated with the gambling racket. By issuing death threats and physically assaulting the journalist, the members of the criminal gang were trying to intimidate him into submission so he may not dare expose them through his reports. 

In another tragic incident that took place at the Chandana Chowrasta area of Gazipur town on Thursday (August 7) evening when Asaduzzaman Tuhin, 38,  a staff reporter of the local daily, Protidiner Kagoj, went live on his Facebook page reporting a crime in action where five to six criminals brandishing sharp weapons were, according to the Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) commissioner, in hot pursuit of their prey, Badsha Mia, who withdrew substantial sum of money that day from an ATM booth in that area of Gazipur. The assailants hacked journalist Tuhin to death in a shop at  the local Eidgah market where he took refuge. The perpetrators murdered the journalist in the full glare of the public in a busy marketplace. The bloody incident committed at a public place was to convey the message that no one including journalists would be spared, if they try to report their crimes or challenge them.

The first incident shows how even rural communities otherwise known for their tradition of understanding and respect for strangers have lost their old values and turned insensitive, lawless and violent. In the past, the culture in the village communities was to inquire about the identity of a stranger whenever confronted by one in their area before taking any action against him or her. And that was never done in a violent manner. But the Taraganj mob violence leading to the gratuitous murder of two people of the same upazila shows how our rural societies have been losing their past mores and values and have changed for the worse out of all recognition 

The second and the third incidents point to how bold criminals are getting by the day and the members of the public losing their courage to resist any violent crime in their presence even though they far outnumber the criminals perpetrating atrocities against an innocent victim. In the mentioned two cases, the victims happened to be journalists. 

These are nothing but signs of a society where lawlessness is taking hold in absence of a well-functioning government. 

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